Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.20
Liaison Kimberly Reeves
Submission Date June 21, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Agnes Scott College
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.25 / 3.00 Susan Kidd
Executive Director
Center for Sustainability
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Part 1

Do the institution’s students have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a student council)? :
Yes

Do the institution’s students have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which students are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
The main governing body on campus for students in the college's Student Government Association, which oversees student representation on campus. SGA is composed of elected students, who serve as the executives of a range of student organizations. The SGA President attends all Board of Trustees meetings and reports on the work of SGA. They also summarize any comments and concerns from the student body. This report can lead to votes of support by the Trustees when they agree with the need to address any student concerns.

Do the institution’s staff members have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a staff council)?:
Yes

Do the institution’s non-supervisory staff members have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which staff are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
Agnes Scott has a strong Staff Council with elected representatives from all aspects of the college's functions. This group elects their chairperson annually and they also select Staff Council members to serve on all Trustee committees. Staff Council has been responsible for major decisions that positively impact the staff.

Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a faculty senate)?:
Yes

Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body? :
Yes

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which teaching and research faculty are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
The Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) is a group of faculty members elected annually to lead all faculty decision-making. There are also specific committees, each assigned with subjects to research and then report back their recommendations to the full faculty. The FEC also recruits and assigns faculty members to serve on all Trustee committees.

Part 2

Does the institution have written policies and procedures to identify and engage external stakeholders (i.e. local residents) in land use planning, capital investment projects, and other institutional decisions that affect the community?:
No

A copy of the written policies and procedures:
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The policies and procedures:
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Does the institution have formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which community members representing the interests of the following stakeholder groups can regularly participate in institutional governance?:
Yes or No
Local government and/or educational organizations Yes
Private sector organizations Yes
Civil society (e.g. NGOs, NPOs) Yes

If yes to one or more of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which external stakeholders are engaged in institutional governance (including information about each stakeholder group selected above):
Agnes Scott engages with both the City of Decatur and Dekalb County through a variety of mechanisms. The City often asks the college to have representatives on planning committees. Agnes Scott's Center for Sustainability works directly with the City's Environmental & Sustainability Board, having shared interns in the past. We jointly presented with the City at an AASHE conference on our partnership. Most recently Agnes Scott's president and the mayor agreed to undertake a climate resilience plan together. Dekalb County asked the college to provide a representative to their Green Commission. The county uses the campus for their public safety training several times a year. To directly engage both the private sector and civil society, Agnes Scott has a Board of Visitors that meets 2-3 times a year. These community leaders are briefed on the work of the college and they are asked to contribute their ideas and advice on how to best inform the constituencies that they represent about the college.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://www.agnesscott.edu/president/index.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.